Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: mastercam

Hi Francisco:
Featuremill by EGS is about in the same price range and is marketed as
"easier"
Dolphin is very well regarded by many on this group and is a lot less
expensive but also somewhat less powerful.
Vector is also very well regarded on this list and has capability that seems
to be about equivalent to Dolphin.
Bobcad is thought of almost universally as "dreadful" and there are a whole
host of other CAM software offerings that get occasional mention.
Seems to me that a hobbyist who cannot justify the 10 plus thousand dollars
for Mastercam level capability would be very well served with some of these
less expensive programs.
The capability gap is actually not all that large anymore...most of the new
features touted in the latest versions of the higher end software are of
value only to guys who program for a living in very competitive environments
and need every enhancement they can get their mitts on to shave minutes off
their programming time.
Very complex geometries are also good candidates for this level of
software...in the mold shop I used to work in, they had three different
$25000+ Cam packages to tweak the last possible microfraction out of their
programming time.
Work NC for example, has the ability to drag a window around toolpaths that
are not wanted, and regenerate automatically the bits that are left.
It can automatically create recut paths to allow corner picking and do all
kinds of other cool things too.
These features are of huge benefit when you expect to have a cutter in a
complex cavity for 5 days of continuous cutting, but for run-of-the-mill
programming they'll probably never be used.
Cheers

Marcus

----- Original Message -----
From: "Francisco Simon" <designtec@...>
To: <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 6:19 PM
Subject: Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: mastercam


>
> > There are a lot of more user-friendly programs than MasterCam (even
> > the latest version) If you are not going to use it yourself then the
> > trash might be the best place for this to end up.
> >
>
>
> What more user-friendly programs are there?
> Can you point me to some?
>
> Thanks
>
> Francisco Simon
> designtec@...
> ICQ5453591
>
>
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